Making money over the weekend

Yesterday was a perfect day for a yard sale, and I ended up making a little over $90 in four hours. Not bad! Not to mention that I got rid of a bunch of stuff–I ended up taking the leftovers and some other stuff that I had set aside to Goodwill. I love getting rid of clutter! (And I can write off the 10 bags of donations too!)

Consigning clothes is another good way to edit the clutter out of your closet. I picked up my latest check from my consignment place on Friday–$49! So now I have enough money to get me through until next pay check. The monthly fee I am paying for chiropractic services is killing my budget!

Today’s horoscope – Libra

“Make a valiant effort to be more disciplined in your spending.”

What could be more perfect for me?

I ended up taking back some of my J Crew purchases Thursday night and managed to get out of the store (and the mall) without buying anything more. Phew!

I love my bicycle!

Gas prices are floating between $3.94 and $3.99 here. Ugh. Luckily, I live only six minutes from work, so I don’t use an excessive amount of gas commuting to and from the job. But because I live so close, I have always said that I would start riding my bike to work. But then I decided that I needed a commuter bike (with fenders and a chain guard) in order to arrive at work in a presentable state. So after four years, I finally bought one last week–a Giant Suede GX. Really, it was a good deal–on sale and I got 12 months same as cash. I am planning on riding it to work tomorrow for the first time, weather permitting. (Did a test ride last week–it only takes 15 minutes from driveway to building.) Hopefully this will alleviate some of my gas expenses, allow me some badly needed exercise and help the environment. I see myself riding this bike to work, church, the grocery store… Check it out… isn’t it cute??

Confession time

Well, I don’t think I’m going to make my May goal of getting my balances under $20K (although I should be pretty close). I have a confession to make… I fell off the wagon. As you can see from my Current Status page, I have paid off most of my department store credit cards. And well, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to make a couple of purchases on some of those cards as long as I pay them off again when they come due. So I charged about $40 to my Macy’s card and about $40 to my Kohl’s charge (my sister’s bad influence). I charged a few things to my JCrew card too and was astounded when I received my bill a few days ago–$412!! And another confession–I charged a few things to my Banana card too. It will be interesting to see where I end up for May. Anyway, I am recommitting myself to this project. I MUST GET MY CREDIT CARDS PAID OFF!! Zero balances equal freedom. I have to keep the big picture in mind and not let my little wants get in the way. OK, I feel better.

Never retire?

OK, I confess, I never read that book on retirement that my sister gave me for Christmas a few years ago. But since I’m focusing on my finances this year, I decided to give the book, The New Retirementality, a glance. And I’m glad I did because I love the premise behind it, which basically boils down to a few points:

• Does it really make sense to slog away at a job you hate for decades, trying to save enough money so you can finally quit when you’re too old to really enjoy yourself?
• Most of us want to work at something we find fulfilling, but we want to do it on our own terms and be more autonomous.
• If you love what you do, you will want to do it for the rest of your life (and you may find new passions along the way), maybe not full time, but in some capacity.

I haven’t gotten too far into the book yet, but what I’ve read so far is very thought-provoking. I’ll be reporting back!

A look back at April

Still making good progress–one more card (Macy’s) paid off! That means I’m down to the big five. I’m still paying hefty interest-$238.71 in April, but that’s down from $255.26 in March. The big payment to Sears made a little bit of difference! Overall, I paid my debt down by $735.73 in April. Baby steps! My goal for May is to get my total under $20K. The prospect of shopping for spring clothes is so alluring though–I am trying to resist. And I just got back from my rescheduled Florida vacation (the one we tried to go on in February). I was a little stretched for cash and I was afraid that I would overdraw my checking account, so I ended up using my Keybank card to pay for two meals. Not horrible, but I don’t want to slip any further.

Few Gen Xers think they’ll fully retire

Came across this tidbit in yesterday’s paper:

Only 31 percent of Generation Xers believe they will ever be able to fully retire, according to a survey commissioned by Scottrade and BetterInvesting. The study shows Gen Xers, people ages 27 to 42, are the most stressed group financially right now. Among other findings, the study shows 40 percent have saved less than $25,000 for retirement, and 21 percent say they haven’t started saving.

Gen X is taking action, however, according to the study. Compared with counterparts in other age groups, Gen X is saving more and spending less.

Luckily, I’m among the 39 percent who have begun saving for retirement (yep, with my very first job out of college) and who have more than $25K in retirement savings. I think I’ll be able to fully retire at some point; hopefully I won’t be 70!

The end of the shopping spree

While reading my current issue of Newsweek, I came across this article, “The End of the Shopping Spree, RIP.” Predictably, with the downturn in the economy, I’m not the only one cutting back on expenses. In fact, several chain retailers have announced that they will be closing stores across the country—the effect is that far-reaching.

 

So how did we as a nation go from rampant consumerism to where we are today? The rise of consumerism in the ‘80s can be attributed to easy credit, rising home values, the ubiquitousness of credit cards (how many do you have?), and the false sense of security the thriving economy brought to us all. I think, too, that my generation (Gen X) is addicted to instant gratification—when I want something, I want it now! (My parents taught me right, though–doled out a weekly allowance, taught the value of a dollar, worked hard, saved and retired in their mid-50s. I’m not sure what happened to me!) You can see what that attitude did to my personal debt load. Ugh.

 

And look where we are now–in the midst of war, record-breaking gas prices, downward spiraling home values, jobs outsourced to other countries and foreclosures. It’s a scary time. And a wake up call for all of us.

 

Maybe this downturn in the economy is a good lesson for us. Maybe it’ll take us back to the values of our grandparents—those who lived through the Depression and learned to make do, recycle, and save on a regular basis, no matter how small the amount. You think?

Adding up expenses

Out of curiosity, I just added up some of my expenses for the month of March (these are taken from my debit card statement–I hardly spend hard cash anymore). I spent:

$154.51 on eating out
$129.87 on gasoline
$209.31 on clothes

Now the commentary:

Eating out: I don’t think this total is too bad. After all, I said I wasn’t going to deprive myself. If you divide the total by 4, the weekly average for eating out is $38.63. I usually treat myself to Subway at least once a week, and I dined out with friends a few times. Eating out is a form of entertainment for us, and I’m not going to give up hanging out with my friends!

Gasoline: I’m lucky that I live very close to my workplace; otherwise, this total would be much greater! When the weather gets warmer, I’m going to try to ride my bike to work–it will be great exercise and good for the planet (and the pocketbook)!

Clothes: OK, I did say that I was going to buy a few things for spring. Last weekend I went to the mall and bought a sweater, a tank top and a blouse from the Gap, and a pair of trousers and a necklace from Banana. Knowing that I was spending money that would come out of my checking account, I was much more deliberative than I usually am when I purchase clothes. Of course, I could have spent a lot more (like on $88 cardigans at JCrew), but I refrained.

No April Foolin’!

I’m down $2,569.52 since I started this blog at the beginning of January! Of course, it helps a lot that I paid $1000 toward my Sears bankcard with the money I got from my tax refund. My short-term goal is to have my balance below $20K at the beginning of June. That should be very doable. Looking over my stats, I accumulated $255.26 in interest this past month–that totally sucks. That’s only about $9 less than February, but that big payment to Sears should help (hopefully) a lot.